The Mariners, Mets, and Orioles have all been linked to free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz over the past couple of weeks, but March is approaching and the 33-year-old remains unsigned. Could a return to the Rangers become an option if this saga continues?

According to Lyle Spencer of MLB.com, the Texas front office has maintained regular contact with Cruz and his agent Adam Katz and could bring him back in 2014 if the asking price becomes “reasonable.”

“We’ve touched base every week or so,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told MLB.com on Wednesday in Surprise, Arizona. “Nellie’s highly regarded here. We have a good relationship with Adam. We made our moves [for Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo] and kind of expected [Cruz] to sign elsewhere. But we’ll see where it goes. It’s a unique situation for him as a free agent. … When we made our decision to sign Choo, it was with the understanding that [Cruz’s] best opportunity would be to sign elsewhere. I don’t know what’s going on with other teams and Nellie. … If that came to pass, we would talk about it.”

Cruz batted .266/.327/.506 with 27 home runs and 76 RBI in 109 games last season for Texas before getting suspended in August for purchasing PEDs from the Biogenesis clinic. He declined a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Rangers in November, tying his free agency to draft pick compensation.